Maria
by ToxicSpeka
Summary: title is subject to change. Set in the early years of living on the ARK, Gerald decides on another approach of healing Maria, with Shadow, amongst other experiments, to be his test subjects.
1. Playful

The sound of joyous giggling filled the busy hall as two figures rushed past, one significantly faster than the other. Maria called toward Shadow that he wasn't being fair, that she couldn't keep up, but it was all in good fun. Giggles only followed her call as Shadow flipped around to stick his tongue out at her, narrowly avoiding bumping clear into a wall as he hurried to regain his balance.

Many scientists quickly shuffled out of the way lest they were bumped at the hip by an overly excited hedgehog and his human sister. One chastised them on being far too reckless, but it fell on deaf ears as the two kids continued their game of chase. Maria did wave behind her, passing more and more bemused staff as some peeked their heads out their offices to see the childish chase, before she ducked away and left Shadow running by himself.

Shadow slowed down to round a corner just for Maria to show up in front of him, so he squealed in surprise as he was grabbed in a rough, tickling hug. "No fair!" he yelped, kicking and flailing uselessly as his sister only held him higher off the ground. "You know this place better than I do!"

Maria only laughed it off, letting him go to sprint past him. "Home territory!" she shouted over her shoulder at the downed hedgehog, trying to suppress the burning in her chest as her legs pumped harder. Her breathing was more of a rasp, but she ignored it. This was the most fun she had this week, finally strong enough nearly a day after her and Shadow's last blood transfusion.

It didn't last long. Shadow slowly gained on her, taking extra care to lag behind as she wasn't nearly as fast as him and he was having far too much fun to care about winning their endless game. He dodged people, staff, scientists who were now simply trying to get work done with ease, ducking under tables and waltzing around suddenly opening doors as he continued to try and map out the place in his head. Sure, he would be more in tune now, but there was rarely a time he had the chance to really explore. Shadow glanced at the ground, noticing something quite out of place on the pristine white floor. He'd only seen it for a split second, but it caught his eye. A singular red dot. Was it a spill? He should clean it right away, it could stain and probably bother them for the rest of their life, or even grow some sort of mold or bacteria from it.

There was a familiar cough, and Shadow poured energy into his legs, far more than he should have, as he sailed past his downed sister and crashed bodily into the wall. He rebounded off, crumpling to the floor with a wheeze and hiss in slight pain but gathering to his knees within seconds to rub Maria's back, her body shaking with heaving gasps and coughing fits, tiny sprinkles of blood droplets spraying from her mouth into her delicate palm and onto the floor. It built steadily, droplets dripping down her pale hand and between thin fingers. Blue eyes were squeezed shut in an effort to calm her screaming lungs back down much to no avail, but she did gladly accept Shadow's comfort.

"Too much?" He asked.

"Too much." She agreed between breaths, tears pricking the corners of her eyes.

Shadow sighed and sat down, belatedly realizing just how much he was sore from slamming into the wall nearly top speed, and looked up to the wall in question just to grimace at its state. "Oops."

Maria slowly looked up, chest still barely grasping what it felt like to breathe again, then wheezed out a hoarse laugh at the clear Shadow-shaped indent in the metal wall.

"Hey, I was worried!" Shadow blushed and looked away sharply, one arm wrapping around her side to hug her protectively. She felt warm to the touch, and instinctively he nuzzled against her cheek. "I would fix it if I knew how to control myself."

"Hmm," she smiled and snuggled into his warm side, thinking loosely on how soft and nice the other's fur was. She and Shadow didn't hug often, be it because testing left his body too sore to bare any sort of contact or her own fits of sickness causing her to become too weak to even open her eyes without straining, so she savored the moment. A simple cold could leave her bedridden for days at a time, but there was rarely a moment Shadow wouldn't be right at her side.. "That's fine, you're still learning. Don't beat yourself up…"

The sound of running drew Shadow's attention away from her response to stare at the large figure approaching from across the way, and he lifted his free hand to wave.

Maria looked up, too, just in time to see the look of pure exacerbated bewilderment on her grandfather's beet red face. "Hello," she spoke, raspy but cheerfully. "How's it going?"

Gerald slowed to a stop a few feet from her, hands on his knees and hunched over to catch his own breath. Based on just how sweaty he was and the fact that he still had on his thick lab coat and gloves, he was rather busy before he was called out.

"One day," he sighed, fully ignoring her joking question and standing up just a bit taller to look at the messy red liquid dripping down her chin "You're going to be the death of me." he removed his gloves to pull a handkerchief from his side pocket, leaning down to wipe her chin clean. He paused long enough to dry off her hand, but it was clear she'd need to properly wash up.

Maria chuckled again while Shadow frowned. "No, no, it was my fault. Blame me, I was the one who made her play! It was too soon and--"

"You're too humble for this world, son." Gerald laid his hand over the small hedgehog's head, gently scratching him before pulling away to stand straight again. He eyed his now ruined handkerchief, then folded his arms behind his back to regard Shadow. "Just help us out some, and get her back to her bed, okay?"

At the order, Shadow stood up tall, scooping up his much heavier and much taller sister into his arms with a firm nod. "Yes sir!"

Before either had time to correct him, he was gone. Racing through the hallways smoothly, his speed unmatched by anything as he effortlessly traversed the maze-like colony back to Maria's favourite bed. He'd always know that path like the back of his hand.

All the while Maria giggled and grinned lively, waving hello to everyone they passed, though she was clearly afraid. Her other hand was wrapped tightly around his neck, her fingers curled into his fur as she feared falling. He even slowed down a tad, but she was still afraid. Of what, he didn't know anymore and figured he'd drop it, knowing she'd tell him if she was ever uncomfortable.

He'd have to wait before he could visit her again, he supposed, briefly thinking that he should double back and claim he got lost just to spend a few more seconds with her, but when she began to cough again the thought went right out the window and he slid to a stop outside the door. She paused, looking down, then turned to him to press a kiss to his forehead.

"Maria!" he whined, and, after chuckling at his demise as he was unable to do anything with his hands full, she lifted her clean hand to the panel and let it scan her fingerprints. A soft hiss let them know that they could enter, and Maria wiggled a bit to get out of his grasp and climbed onto her bed herself.

The room was full yet bare at the same time. Most things there being little nick nacks Shadow either made or found that he thought she would like, many framed pictures of him, Maria, and Gerald along with other staff as well, and plenty of papers scrawled with puzzles, notes, letters, homework and drawings. Not to mention little desk toys he snatched from new shipment issues before it could be checked for non-essentials. On one wall laid a large window, the glass so thick it became somewhat foggy towards the corners, where you could clearly see the Earth and many, many stars littering space itself.

"Don't blame yourself."

The soft voice caught him off guard and he looked up, finding Maria smiling at him. "Pardon?"

"I said," she wiped her face and hands and tossed the sanitizing wipe away, leaning over to scratch his ear. "don't blame yourself! I knew I shouldn't have headed out so soon after getting another refill, and I knew I should have stopped when I didn't feel so good. None of this was your fault."

Shadow didn't complain when he was lifted up and placed next to her, but did give her a look that said 'you know I can't be in this bed with you' whilst continuing to enjoy being hugged and pet. It was hard for Maria to realize that he wasn't exactly a "pet", but he didn't mind the attention. Maria hummed in surprize a slight buzzing feeling she felt coming from Shadow, but smiled and dismissed it as him purring.

"If you say so-- OW!!" he yanked his head away, whining and rubbing the ear that had been suddenly pinched "What was that for!?"

"For not believing me!" she snapped back, though it was said with a smug smile.

Shadow didn't get much time to reply before he noticed Maria looking above and behind him, and he was lifted under the arms and set on the ground.

"You're getting heavy," Emily remarked.

"I'm a growing hedgehog."

He didn't need to be told to know that he had to leave, but he didn't want to right away either.

"Ms. Emily, does he have to go?" Maria whined, but the nurse didn't falter for a second. She simply nodded and smoothed her jet black hair back and over her shoulders, wrapping it in a ponytail with a blank expression. Not even Gerald could persuade her unless absolutely necessary.

Emily had been Maria's nurse/doctor for a while now, and she was never one to just allow something to happen. She was very nice, yes, but the only times when Shadow was allowed inside was during a blood transfusion (or as Maria liked to call it, a refill,) or helping Maria calm down if she began to panic. Other than that, it was a no go. Apparently, he needed a deep cleansing bath every single time because his fur easily collected dust and other mites that could cause Maria's condition to worsen. Apparently. That was entirely untrue as he physically could not harbor any bacteria on his body, but he had no say in that fight.

"Emiiiilyyyy," Maria whined, looking off sadly to her half-brother. "B-but--"

"No buts young lady," the woman sighed, looking back over her shoulder and waving for Shadow to leave already. She turned right before his quills bristled in anger. "You're going to be taking medicine anyway, and it'll make you sleepy. Not sure why you would want him here for if you were just going to sleep."

Irritated and not wanting to hear more, Shadow turned away from the woman and her hazel gaze, sticking out his tongue pointedly at her just as the door began to close, just to quickly realize that she had again looked back at the noise and saw his expression. He turned tail and ran just in case she had anything to say about that.

Great. Maria was in bed again, and while she would deny it for as long as the sun stayed bright, he still believed he was to blame for it.

"Good afternoon," he heard in passing, and so he glanced up to see a young man crouched down, hand outstretched with small brown pellets nestled in his palm. He looked a bit concerned and worried, as Shadow had ran a good few steps past the door as if he was ignoring the other. Shadow grimaced but faked a smile, backtracking a bit to entertain him.

"Good afternoon," he spoke politely, inwardly grinning when a colleague smacked the other upside his head and chastised him on how Shadow wasn't a pet. The man quickly stood, apologize, and looked at the treats he held in slight awkward confusion. Clearly, he had no idea if his offer was offensive as well.

To throw the other a bone, as he really didn't mean to be rude, Shadow extended his own hand and took the treats from him. "Thank you. Have a nice day, Dr. Johnson, and I wish you luck in your studies." he popped one into his mouth, still hating the taste and texture just the same as the last time this happened.

Apparently, there was a dog or some other creature before him that gladly accepted these treats, but now that it was gone and he replaced it, they had an abundance that they needed to get rid of still.

It wasn't like he minded much. True, he didn't want to be treated like a pet, but then again the treats still existed, and everyone was still missing the idea of having a pet on-board. There were a few times he had to sit and have his ears scratched and head pat while staff distracted themselves from work, but that was fine. He liked the touch. Small acts, showing that the other staff knew and acknowledge that Shadow indeed was alive and lived on the ARK with them. That they did care for him, even if it was small, mundane, or simple muscle memory or a habit to offer the remaining treats to the creature that would roam the walls in hopes that they would eat and enjoy it. Simply distracting themselves or thinking that the other enjoyed being pet and touched by another. Small acts really added up.

Especially since he wasn't… Entirely liked.

Unable to think of what to do, and not wanting to go to testing just yet as he had another good hour or two before his next session, he set out to find Gerald. See if he needed some help, which he almost always did. Gerald was one of the head scientists, with select few on top of him and even fewer on the same level, but that didn't mean he didn't need help.

Shadow was still learning many things, but he could tell certain things apart by smell and sight alone, and was extremely strong for his small size, and had a temper to boot. The perfect combination used for testing.

And he hated it.

Shadow waited until he was out of sight before promptly spitting up the pellets he had placed into his mouth and tossing the rest into the nearest bin. The can closed shut right after, and it was gone from view. He still needed some time to get used to that. He didn't even know where the trash went, but he was sure every time that shute opened, it smelled faintly of something burning.

The pellets tasted like pure cardboard spritzed with the scent of meat and seasoned with salt, something he was unsure how dogs would ever enjoy. He'd also eaten cat food before, and freeze dried crickets and mealworms back when he was first released and no one had any idea what he'd eat. Surprisingly, the crickets and mealworms were edible. Crickets had a slight meaty flavour while the mealworms taste like cheese, which didn't actually make sense. The cat food? He wasn't going to lie, it was edible. Not the best, but he willingly ate it whenever it was time for him to eat.

Cat food seafood delight with cricket meat and mealworm cheese became a delicacy to him for a long time. Until he tried a sandwich, then he fell in love.

Well it was just lunch meat, a slice of ham torn off from a sandwich from Gerald, but it was still heaven. Seeing Shadow eat normal food was such an eye opener for the lot of them, and that was when they realized they had been feeding him almost nothing.

\--

 _hello and welcome to my relaunch of Maria! Not very much has changed, but the plot has been changed significantly. This will go up on ao3 as well._


	2. Entrusting

Shadow turned past the observation deck, ignored the door he oh so wanted to go inside but was banned from, and stood in front of the last door. The air was still cold, and the door still had scratches and scuffs from the many… experiments that happened there. The wall surrounding the door even held its own story, deep claw marks desperately leading outside constantly covered and repaired until the idea was given up on.

He raised his hand and knocked gently at the metal, a soft tapping sound unlike any noise to happen inside the room, and soon, the door opened.

"Project," he was greeted, by someone he hardly met before. Shadow just knew he was Gerald's assistant, and the other just knew Shadow was one of the few successful projects.

"Here for Gerald." he grunted back, looking around, then ducked past him.

He was one of the few ever allowed to enter the room unannounced, as he was mostly quiet and kept to himself. He was only there to help, it was rare he decided to run amuck.

"He's…" the other trailed off, pointing despite Shadow already leaving him. "Whatever…"

Shadow stopped next to his father/creator and tapped his leg, stepping back a second later at a hiss of utter agony that sounded familiar.

"Shadow, you're just in time. Can you calm F103 for me?" Gerald asked, voice strained and obviously exhausted. It was then that Shadow finally paid attention to the table, looking down at the creature thrashing against the metal. It was some sort of lizard mobian he had seen before, but it had metal encasing its chest and blood pumping everywhere. Instead of its normal dark green scales, they were thinner, pale, as if he had been losing a steady amount of blood for a while. Its tail had been dropped too, and Shadow worried. Something was poking out the back of its neck and it looked overall painful.

"Fire," he whispered, setting his hand on the others back, where the metal wasn't. It flinched at his touch. "Fire, listen? Please stop, you'll hurt yourself more."

The lizard raised its head and cried out, groping at Shadow's wrist with claws so sharp they easily sliced his skin. The thrashing slowed, but it was clear he was still in distress. His jaw dropped often to show off teeth in a threat, but he was far too scared for any of that. Tears raced down his muzzle and he coughed, trying to gasp for air that was no longer coming for him.

"Take this off of him, it hurts." Shadow warned, looking around desperately. He fully ignored the steady stream of green blood now flowing onto the table. He was aware he was hurt, and he was aware he was extremely abnormal. "It hurts him and he can't do anything about it."

"We can't, either." someone spoke, and Shadow looked up as he kneeled to be at eye level with his experiment friend. "It's… going to be permanent, he has to adjust."

"No! He can't adjust, it hurts too much!" Shadow retorted, flat out crawling onto the table to hug the bloody lizard. He stopped thrashing, wheezing gasps coming from his mouth while airy hisses escaped the tube coming from the back of his neck. Slowly, he calmed, a warm, buzzing feeling having spread through his body as Shadow began to accidentally heal him. The blood slowed to a trickle.

Again, Fire lifted its long neck and moaned in exhaustion, turning to lie his head on Shadow's arm. The gasping eventually stopped, and the wheezing hiss grew more constant.

"Perfect." Gerald commented, petting Shadow's back. The hedgehog squeezed a bit harder around his friend, and in turn the lizard did so as well. Shadow's quills splayed and bristled in fear, and Gerald sighed, pulling his hand away. "I'll give you two time, it's clear that a lot has happened here."

"But we've finally gotten the subject calm! We should continue now!" An assistant called, rushing over with the intent of pulling Shadow away "Finally, we have a shot--!"

The lizard snapped his head up, turning to the other and dropped his jaw to shoot a plume of fire in his direction. Too short and mostly smoke escaped, but the threat was clear. Shadow slowly let go to look at Fire, then the other.

"No, he needs a break."

"It. The lizard is an it, Project."

"No. He's a he and he needs a break." Shadow threatened, and, after the other raised his hands in surrender, Shadow picked up Fire and waddled to the other side of the room to sit and hold him. He was simply just so large and heavy, but the lizard appreciated it always.

Shadow closed his eyes and let the cold lizard rest his entire body weight onto him. He only knew him for a few days, this… mobian, but Shadow didn't hate any of them. Especially not an experiment, they needed the most help out of all of them.

Fire was one of the few that befriended him first. He could only walk on all fours, and he knew nothing of speech and could hardly do much of anything except breathe short bursts of fire. But, he wasn't the only one. Fire was of hundreds of experiments viable for testing, out of possibly thousands created and some still under development. He still clung to the idea that he would have a friend just like him, one that experience what he did, one he could talk to about what he could never tell Maria. One who could help finally cure her…!

Fire made a small sound, nuzzling its head to Shadow's cheek, and Shadow understood. He didn't let it go, though, grip only tightening as Fire moved sluggish limbs so he could return the hug.

Fire calmed down. He took a wheezing breath through his metallic lungs, closed his eyes, and went lax as he expired. The wounds were too great and traumatic to adjust to, even with Shadow's attempts of healing him.

Shadow swallowed a lump in his throat and sighed, then lifted his head to look at Gerald.

"He couldn't do it." he spoke, voice full of emotion. "He didn't want to, but he couldn't do it. Not any longer."

The scientist looked up from cleaning off the table, staring at Shadow and the pale lizard for a few seconds as his brain pieced it together. "What?"

"Fire… didn't… make it." Shadow drawled, then, was struck, forcing him to drop the body of his friend and fall to the ground. He sat up to rub his cheek, reeling from the punch, just for his nose to be smashed into the ground as a heavy shoe crashed over his head.

"You idiot! That's why we shouldn't allow that project in here! We just lost a good test subject because of it!" A man cried, eyes wide and full of anger as he frantically switched from yelling at Shadow to Gerald just behind him and back. "All your fault! You should just stay out of the way!"

"Assistant West!" Gerald snapped, grabbing his wrist and yanking him away "We all know there was a high risk he would not make it on our first try, but we tried anyway, and he passed because of it. It's entirely our fault." he let go, eyes narrowing dangerously. He never once raised his voice to shout, each word coming with a pointed sharp tone. "Now, clean up, and get the hell out."

He looked around for his other assistant, who looked absolutely shocked at the other's outburst. "Make sure Fire is properly put to rest. I have my son to take care of, if you don't mind."

With that, the head scientist walked over to Shadow and bent down, offering his hand for him to take. Shadow lifted his paw and took it, using the other to push himself up and wipe away his few tears in a hurry. He'd never let himself cry, not in front of people. He felt at his nose gingerly, pulling his hand back to make sure it wasn't bloody.

As they left the room, Shadow stared at the ground.

"I'm sorry."

The words didn't register at first, and Shadow frowned. "Yes, I'm sorry."

Gerald shook his head "No, I'm sorry. Sorry about… sorry that Fire didn't make it, and I'm sorry you had to see him go, and I'm sorry that you were hurt. None of that should have happened." he looked down at him, eyeing the area he was punched. "I've never once seen him act like that, but it won't be tolerated. No one will ever punch you and… And get away with it."

Shadow sniffered. Apparently, he didn't see the stomp, or else the man might have been seeing red for the rest of his life.

"That's fine. You're just… trying to help. That's what you do. You try to help, and when it fails, it fails. Like me!" Shadow tried to smile, but was met with a sad gaze.

"You aren't a failure. You're Shadow, you're family."

"I was made to heal Maria, but I haven't done that. If I was a success, she would have been better by now." Shadow added "I don't think Maria's better."

"What Maria has is a special case that needs special care. It's slow, but you are making a difference. Maria didn't use to smile as much, and hardly ever played around. Now, I can hardly get her to sit still as soon as she feels just a tad bit better!" he laughed "And that's all because of you, Shadow."

The experiment chuckled kindly and smiled, then looked himself over in distain. "I do need to shower, though, sir-- Gerald."

"Indeed." Gerald ignored the slip up and let Shadow go, right outside his personal lab/bedroom. Shadow hurried inside.

He didn't need to be told twice as he kicked off his shoes and tore off his ruined gloves to hop in his chemical shower. As his feet touched the plate at the bottom, a clear glass tube came sliding down and trapped him inside. A spray of treated fluid came cascading down, cleaner and more convenient than soap and water. It could even be reused with no lingering effects, but only when it came to Shadow.

He scrubbed the blood from his body,

rinsed his quills, and stared at his wounds as they slowly sealed shut under his very eyes.

And, as he took a deep breath, he let himself cry. Open sobs, muffled by the soundproof glass, only echoed around his head and caused him to break down further at hearing just how pathetic he sounded. He cried over the loss of Fire, he cried over being yelled at and hit, he cried at being called an idiot project. He felt worthless. He...

He had ten minutes before he went back to training. The flow shut off automatically and a large fan turned on overhead, blowing his fur dry a bit roughly. It dried off his still flowing tears as he stifled back hiccups, forcing himself to quickly recover.

He stepped out overly fluffy and soft, and tried his best to look normal once again as he took his claws to his quills.

"What am I going to be tested on, father?" Shadow asked, looking at Gerald as the scientist cleaned off his glasses. He had waited just outside the door, and as Shadow came into view looking more like a plush toy, he stifled a giggle.

"Endurance. Before you say anything, I'm sorry in advance."

Shadow's face must have displayed his displeasure, as Gerald raised his hands in defence. "I'm not fully in control of this, son. While you are Maria's half brother and her saviour, you're also a… a project."

"I…" he closed his eyes, balling up his fists as thoughts flooded his mind. He closed them off with a sigh; he would tell Maria later. Probably. "Understood, Sir."

"Gerald."

"...yes."

Gerald placed a large hand on Shadow's shoulder and nudged him, so Shadow quietly followed the command and turned, facing him. He looked up into his creator's dark glasses, and was met with a face of concern.

"Is everything alright, Shadow?"

"Yes, why do you ask?" His throat began to tighten up on him with every word. He balled his hands into fists again to suppress the urge to wrap his arms around the portly man and cry into his lab coat, but Gerald only pushed on.

"Your eyes are very red. You don't have to be a scientist to know that means someone was crying."

Shadow took a deep breath and looked away, shoulders shaking. "I… did, but I'm fine now," his claws broke his skin and he was sure he felt blood seeping into his gloves. "Now please, let me test. I don't want to waste any time."


	3. Disadvantage

He left, mind blanking as it simply had too much to process all at once. His feet carried him on autopilot towards the testing chambers.

Endurance.

That simply meant "what can we do to you until you crack?"

Anything could happen, then.

Shadow tried to cheat. He fell during the first test once, where he was being tested on how much electrical shocks he could take before his vitals began to plummet. Upon the first shock, much worse than it should have ever been, he cried out in agony and fell into a heap on the floor. He wheezed and heaved in effort, wanting the test to already be over, but was shocked again. And again. Over and over, until Shadow's eyes rolled back in his head, his body stiffened, and his fur began to sizzle.

It was awful. He couldn't control his body for days on end afterwards, and even took the day off completely once when he realized he was simply not fit enough to function.

The door opened with a hiss, then there was a slam and a steamy, brisk and frigid shower of a treated mist. Once it was over, Shadow took a few steps forward and stood under a large observation deck, right in the middle. Surrounding above were other scientists, including Gerald. It was rare he showed up to these-- in fact, it was rare for these many people to show up. Something big must be happening.

"Welcome, Project SH02." was spoken to him, a woman in a full body suit of operational gear leaning down to him. He figured she was smiling, but he couldn't see it, so he didn't smile back. Her hand pressed to his back and ushered him forward.

"Today, we have a special test for you. We have something we'd like for you to interact with." she added, pointing to a small box in the middle of the room. He didn't trust it. "All we want you to do is open it."

Then, she hurried away and everyone else followed. Shadow looked around in suspicion at the fleeting scientists and looked down to the small box in terror. He glanced about the room for anything to protect himself, but saw nothing. The room was bare, in fact. When was the last time they made it bare?

When the loud beep rang, Shadow took all of five steps towards the box, kicked it hard, and ran away.

Nothing happened.

He stared at it from afar. It simply laid there, now knocked over from the force but still closed.

Slowly, Shadow stepped closer, gently picking it up and putting it to his ear to listen. Nothing. He shook it. Nothing.

Finally, Shadow peeled the top off and it was now open. Nothing happened.

There was something inside, but he didn't know what it was. Just as he reached inside to pull it out, there was a hiss and a pop and the machine exploded. Shadow yelped and took a few hurried steps back, eyeing the yellow smoke drifting up from smoldering heap with uncertainty.

"It broke!" he called, looking up at the scientists quickly jotting down notes "It wasn't my fault, it broke!"

His breath caught and there was an acrid taste on his tongue. It was probably the smoke, he guessed, and laid on the ground with his hands over his nose and mouth. He tried to stave his breathing, knowing that he was special and could hold his breath for seven minutes if need be, but he was quickly reminded that he needed a full lungful first.

Shadow looked around frantically, but the smoke was drastically filling the room, even to the floor. He needed to leave, this wasn't a proper testing environment. He got to his feet and tried the door, but it wasn't working. It had no handles as he destroyed them many times before, but that wasn't important. His hand wasn't recognized, even without the glove, and neither was his eye, and even the hand punched code didn't work! What was going on!

Then, it dawned on him.

Endurance. This was the test.

His eyes stung from the smoke now, making his vision hazy and even tinged yellow. Or maybe the room just looked like that, he couldn't tell anymore. His lungs screamed and he finally sucked air in, just to cough harshly and suddenly, hunching over until he was laid on his side in a heavy coughing fit that wouldn't end. Blood coated his lungs and sputtered out of his mouth in fat splotches, staining the floor in a spray. Claws scratched at his throat and the tile, screams erupting from his throat as he thrashed in agony. It hurt. It burned. He couldn't breathe and boiling tears traveled down his cheeks every time he blinked.

"GERALD!" he hollered, scrambling his way to his knees to spit up, nothing but crimson liquid dripping thickly down his chin. Nothing was in his stomach to even throw up. "DAD! HELP...help me…"

Words wheezed, dry heaving as the stinging died down. The smoke didn't stop flowing. In fact, it sped up. It clogged the air and clung to his skin, and as he curled up into a weak ball, it stung his skin.

But, it didn't hurt to breathe anymore. Why didn't it hurt? Sure, the smoke still tasted awful, and he couldn't see very well and it was still uncomfortable to blink and look around, but he could breathe.

So, he laid on his side, eyes closed, and did only that. Breathed. The smoke smelled bad, too, he realized. His tickled the inside of his nose and made him sneeze, and didn't have a specific scent other than 'bad', but he couldn't complain. He was still alive, wasn't he?

The word 'barely' snuck up into his head.

What did this test have to do with anything?

The soft hissing of the machine died down until it completely stopped, but Shadow knew better than to open his eyes now. He didn't know how much time had passed since the experiment started, and really didn't know when he collapsed, but that was fine. A few more minutes laying down, and he'd be sure to smell when the smoke was completely gone from the room.

He heard the vents start up, and the room get colder, but still didn't open his eyes yet.

Then, footsteps hitting the ground, and muffled whispers.

"Shadow? Son? Are you still with us?" it was Gerald. It took a bit of effort to open his eyes, but he did, just to frown when everything was cloudy. Even Gerald looked at him in confusion, as if he could see the cloudiness too. Shadow felt the sensation of 'opening his eyes again', and everything was clear once more. He was too out of it to even question anything. Every action felt slow and sticky, and if it didn't, it felt far too fast and choppy.

Gerald, along with everyone else in the room, was wearing a hazmat suit and completely not touching him. He was a bit worried but said nothing about it. to be honestly, he probably looked awful. He still tasted blood on his teeth and his nose was most likely running.

"Hello." he rasped, vocal cords and throat torn to rubbish. "I want to go to bed."

"I know you do, but you can't sleep now. I need you to hold your breath, okay?"

He did, taking a shallow breath to hold. He didn't feel like trying to hold more.

Then, the hedgehog was hoisted up onto a cart and a dome was slammed down over him, trapping him inside as he was wheeled away.

His brain started signing out for the night and the hedgehog struggled to stay awake, but, ultimately, when he was placed onto a table and felt the not at all comforting sensation of a robotic tube being shoved into his throat and down into one of his lungs, he passed out.

\--

 _i didnt add a thing to the end if the second, so here you go_


	4. Enticing

Shadow was woken up a bit automatically, internal clock telling him that it was around the time he'd normally be up. Just as he did, Maria was bent down, staring directly into his soul, seemingly.

"AGH!" Shadow yelped, flinging himself backwards and raising his hands into fists and quills to sharp daggers all within a split second. "Wh--!?"

He paused to cough, body attempting to throw up the tube in his throat until he gagged and pulled it free, gross spittal following it as he dropped it to the ground.

"Hm," Maria only nodded, standing back up "I knew you'd wake up. Anyway, Grandfather said that 'Shadow should be careful of himself when he wakes up, or he'll rip out his breathing tube, tear his stitches, or bleed everywhere.'" she huffed in a somewhat mocking voice, sounding nothing like Gerald whatsoever, just to look down and see that Shadow already had bits of blood on his claws and was currently tearing out the stitches on his chest.

At the silence, the alien looked up. "What? I heal better without them anyway."

"Yes but now you're all dirty, and that probably hurts! So stop doing that, it's gross."

Once the word "gross" was uttered, Shadow grinned, staring at the one particularly long stitch he'd pull from his healing wound. Yes, the feeling was irritating, but felt more itchy than painful. Slowly, he rose it in front of his face and waved it side to side.

"Mariaaa… It has my blood on it~" Shadow sung, moving it closer to the retreating girl.

"You put that back where you found it, mister!" She tried to yell, but was laughing too much for it to sound threatening.

Shadow jumped off his cot and playfully chased Maria about the small room, dropping the lone stitch seconds in just to grab at her with arms outstretched. "I'll catch you!"

She laughed, "No you won't!" and dove behind the cot, Shadow on the other side.

Then, Shadow ducked, and Maria blinked and crouched too, spotting the project squatting on the other side.

"Hi, how's it going?" he waved.

"Oh, hi! I'm good, you?"

"Ah, great! Could be better, my chest feels pretty hot and my throat hurts."

"Would you like a glass of water?"

"Yes, please, right after I win this game of chase with this funny looking friend of mine."

"In your dreams!" Maria stood and leaned over the cot, making use of her height and grab the smaller hedgehog and push him over.

Shadow fell on his rump with a hearty laugh, knowing the little game was over and that it'd be best if they stopped. True to his word, his chest did hurt now. Maybe playing right after surgery wasn't the best idea.

"What is even going-- you know what? I don't think I even want to ask."

The two looked up to see Gerald standing there, a small tray in his hands balancing two glasses of water. "I'm actually very surprised you're up and moving, it hasn't even been a full day since your surgery."

"I've been under the needle as much as thirty times in the past two weeks, sir. I'm sure my body has adjusted by now." Shadow took a long swig of his water, acutely aware that it was warm, not cold. He was a bit irritated by that but figured it was for the best right now.

"Shame you haven't adjusted to calling me Gerald," the scientist mumbled, giving the colder glass to his granddaughter. "Anyway, I need you down in the lab again whenever you have time today."

Shadow said nothing and lowered his glass to his lap, staring at the ground as Gerald left.

"... Are you okay?"

He sighed and glanced at Maria. "I'm fine, Maria." he'd tell her about the experiment some other time. "How about we get breakfast? I'm very hungry."

While she wasn't convinced that her brother was fine at all, she didn't want to pry and simply nodded, finishing off her glass and to grab his hand and lead Shadow to the cafeteria.

It didn't matter that he already knew where it was, anyway.

Maybe it was too early to start eating, he did just come from surgery, essentially, but then again he healed quickly so he didn't much care.

Again, being an experiment had its many ups and downs. Walking into the room, he was greeted with many happy faces, but plenty more disgusted faces raising their hands to protect their food. From what, he wasn't sure, but never questioned it.

Luckily, all the lunch staff really liked him. Maybe it was because he was polite, he wadn't entirely sure. He was never allowed back thdre to help other than sweeping when everyone else was done and all the food was put away. After a short but pleasant conversation with them, Shadow lead Maria off to the lone, smaller table they shared. Apparently, no one wanted to eat with an animal. Save for very few people that only really wanted to talk to one or the other.

"Spill the beans."

Shadow paused mid bite, sandwich still partially hanging from his mouth as he stared down at his tray in confusion. He'd gladly follow the order if there were any beans to spill. He had broccoli, though.

At his stare, Maria stifled a laugh and shook her head. "No, I mean talk. Tell me why you're so upset, Shadzy." she offered, smiling kindly. "I haven't seen you this down in a while, not since you were told to take those swimming lessons."

"You mean 'pushed into the deep end with weights around your ankles', not told." he shot back around his sandwich, swallowing before he continued, "But really, as much as I would like to tell you, it doesn't concern you."

Maria huffed and pinched his ear hard, frowning as he yelped and chanted a torrent of "ow, ow!"s at the rough treatment. She didn't care that some people turned to look.

"It does concern me!" she let go "Because I'm your big sister, and little brothers tell their big sisters everything."

The hedgehog rubbed his tender ear with a rather animalistic whine, making the girl realize that she actually hurt him. "Really, it doesn't concern you. I'll tell you if it ever does. Can we just drop this and finish our food, please?"

Maria deflated, opening her mouth to say something, but stopped. She overstepped her boundaries; Shadow didn't like to talk about whatever happened behind those testing room doors, and everytime she pushed, he'd close up like a vault. Knowing that she lost this battle, and watching Shadow angrily stab the rest of his food with his fork instead of actually eating, the girl shook her head and hugged him.

"I'm sorry, Shadow. I'm just worried."

A second's hesitation, and Shadow wrapped his arms around Maria and buried his head into her chest, silent and food forgotten.

She felt Shadow tense up, claws poking through the fabric of her shirt and nearly stabbing her. He shook in her arms, minutely, so shallow she almost didn't notice, but his shuddering breath gave her the answer. He wanted to cry.

Not long after, the two swiftly pulled apart and Shadow awkwardly cleared his throat, staring down at his plate and picking at his food again. He stared longingly at his half eaten sandwich, physically wanting it but mentally didn't feel like eating any longer. Maria gently coughed.

"So…" The two started in sync, then chuckled to themselves.

"Are you going to the lab after breakfast? Or do you wanna stay with your favourite sister and help her with her studies~?" She cooed as she leaned closer. "I'm sure a really smart and really handsome hedgehog like you knows all the answers."

"Ah, I would, if I knew who my favourite sister was."

"Rude!"

He quickly added, smiling childishly to her at the interruption, "I'm sorry, maybe a bit later. Promise not to leave the difficult ones for me."

As much as he wanted to do exactly anything else, he had a job to do. Even if he didnt like it.

As he stood, grabbing his and her trays to dump as he completely lost his appetite and Maria having entirely finished her food, Maria pouted and crossed her arms. Her lack of a response slightly worried him, but seeing her crack a wry smile as he waved her goodbye was enough to tell him that she was up to no good.

Again, through the hallways he jogged, glad that mostly everyone was still out for breakfast so he didn't need to pass many people. There were still a select few that worked through their breaks, like Emily, Sam, Thomas that hated to be called Tom, and Ina that was hardly ever seen anyway, so he was perfectly fine.

"Just the guy I wanted to see," Someone spoke, and extremely tempted to keep running and pretend like he couldn't hear her, Shadow took two extra steps before seeing something crash down in front of him.

"Really? I'm going to Gerald." he half threatened the large stack of overfilled boxes, staring up at the woman that peeked over the top of them.

"Yeah, same. Since we're both heading the same way, why don't you help a friend out?"

He… didn't know her. It wasn't like she was a new face at all, he just never spoke a word to her before. Who was she, even? She had brown hair, for one, and thick glasses that slid down her nose so far he was afraid that they'd flat out fall off and shatter if she so much as breathed too hard.

"Who are you?"

"Oh. Oh! I'm Jade. I was just moved up here, I was in the lower decks and you don't really go down there long enough for us to talk." She smiled sweetly, then looked at the boxes again, as if hinting that Shadow should really get them and stop dancing around the subject.

"...Fine." He sighed, and the woman hurried back as Shadow heaved and lifted the three boxes, able to balance them above his head with a slight struggle. He wasn't training his strength anymore, his experimenters kept doing everything but. At least this'll get some arm strength training going. "I have been on the lower decks before. No one ever wants to speak to me. Not like I cared about that." He cared. He cared deeply. He wanted people to like him, but it was okay if they didn't… not really, it wasn't okay. What was it about him that upset other so much!?

The two carried on towards the laboratory, Jade taking slow steps, then faster ones, and awkwardly switching from behind to in front of him as she tried to keep pace. He was a bit slower because of his smaller size, but now under the weight that was an extra step back.

"Well, you can't blame us. You were… um… created on the top deck, and Dr. Robotnik refused to let anyone under him to see you for a few months. Half of us completely forgot you existed because no one could see you." she waved her hands vaguely, and he noted how much she talked with her hands. "I mean I understand why, at least."

He didn't know why, but the way she was speaking started to upset him. He knew he was created, but the way she stressed it irritated him. The same went for her talking about how everyone forgot he existed, that was a blow to the stomach there. It wasn't his fault at all, and Gerald was just being cautious, but to be told that you became so insignificant that hundreds of people just forgot you existed? Just like that?

Shadow responded by grunting dismissively, and Jade hurried to backpedal, pushing her glasses up and adjusting her obviously new lab coat. "I-I mean, you really are cool, and when you came exploring for the first time everyone was so excited to see you that we didn't say anything!"

"What is your job, now that you've been promoted?" he changed the subject. He didn't remember the walk being this long before. Maybe because he's never actually walked there, but ran or jogged. He didn't have a lot of patience.

Jade hummed, her expression remaining neutral for a second. As if to do something to make him feel better, she took a box off the top if his stack, just to make him stumble a bit at the sudden weight shift and snap at her, a deep growl scaring her into stepping back. "I'm sorry!"

Shadow breathed deeply, eyes narrowing and ears folding back and forth before, slowly, he relaxed, moved the boxes forward, and dropped them heavily where he stood. "Carry them the rest of the way." he then took off in a jog, knowing the lab was right around the corner.

"B-but they're too heavy!" She called back.

"You got them up here, didn't you?" he answered, then stopped and violently scratched at the door, not caring how he was hurting his claws and that the metal was crying out at his treatment.

"Shadow?"

The alien abruptly stopped his assault on what turned out to be the air after the door opened without his knowledge, looking up to see Gerald having answered the door.

"...Hello." he belated spoke "You… needed me, father?"


	5. sorry

"Are you okay, son?" Gerald placed his hand on the hedgehog's back, urging him forward. He completely ignored the fact that Shadow wasn't breathing a bit heavily.

"I'm fine," He lied "Why do you ask?"

"You don't exactly attempt to tear open the door every time you visit." The scientist moved his hand gently, allowing Shadow to see the room. It was only him and two other scientists, those he'd seen before. He didn't remember their names.

"...I was irritated by someone along the way, but it wasn't anything bad." Shadow, seeing as there was no experiment coming in anytime soon, hopped up onto the table to sit down. For some reason, the room felt more empty than usual. "Back to my question… why am I here?"

"Oh!" Gerald whisked around, rummaging through the rest of the room for a second all while Shadow glared at one scientist in particular. He was actually from the medical team, one of those that had tossed him into the experimenting room. Well, not toss, but still.

"I needed to take your vitals," Gerald came back with a kit he usually used to take blood samples, setting it on the table next to him. "But I'm not able to stay, something has come up. You will be fine without me, right?"

The words "Yes, I'll be fine." Slipped out of his mouth before he had a chance to think about the question, and Gerald was gone.

All he parted with was the other's names.

Then, it was quiet for a few seconds. Uneasy seconds, where it was clear no one wished to speak to the other party, but nothing was going to get done otherwise.

Hartford was very tall and of a medium build. He probably excersied a lot before coming aboard the ARK, or maybe he still did so on his time off? Shadow didn't feel like asking.

Then, there was Wilt. Wilt seemed like the very definition of his own last name. He didnt seem like he wanted to be there, he looked defeated and overal tired. While he was shorter than Hartford, actually at an average height, he was just as built. maybe because of his stature that he was bigger, but it was hard to tell.

Then, Shadow's arm was swiftly lifted and he snatched it away.

"How can I take your vitals if you won't let me," it wasn't a question as the scientist-- no, apparent doctor took his arm again and yanked up. "Now be a good… Whatever you are and sit still, and this'll be over and I can go back to doing normal stuff."

Shadow huffed sharply, a dangerous hiss building up in the back of his throat as his arm was held to accommodate the doctor's height. His assistant seemed to be looking for something, or cleaning something off, he couldn't tell. Then, as he turned around, Shadow saw that he had an electric razor.

"My fur is more thin on the inside of my arms," he turned his arm over to show that, indeed, his fur was much shorter and didn't need to be shaved as it was nearly impossible to catch all strands of loose fur, but his arm was twisted back in place and he was properly ignored. "Hey, wait, listen to--"

"Really, be quiet. I don't work with animals to begin with and I'm here looking for a cure, I don't care if it talks." Dr Hartford spoke, and Shadow looked taken aback, not even reacting when the shaver was turned on and brought up over his arm.

He watched his fur bunch up and loosely fall to the table, where it collected finer and finer strands as Hartford decided that he needed to cut off a layer or two of skin just to draw blood.

Wait.

"If you're drawing blood, why the hell are you--"

"Come one, Wilt," Hartford interrupted again, grabbing the prepared needle from his assistant as he gave him a hapless look, as if he had nothing to add to this situation and was simply letting it play out.

Shadow pulled away again, this time jumping off the table entirely and pulling his arm back to hide the empty patch. "What are you going to do to me?" He hissed, earning a surprised look from the ever so silent Dr Wilt and a look of bewildered anger from Hartford. "You don't use the bicep to draw blood, and there's no IV drip here nor do I need one. What the hell do you think you're planning?"

"You're really making this worse than it has to be. I'm putting you to sleep, thats it thats all." Shadow didn't get to respond before Wilt jumped forward, surprising him into side stepping to get away from his large form.

As he did he put his side towards Hartford, who easily pushed him down for Wilt to pin.

He thrashed, yelling as loud as his lungs could manage as he felt a dull thud and sharp pain of a needle forcing its way through his flesh and something being injected directly into him, then the needle scraped away and he whined.

Something primal awakened in him and Shadow reeled, biting down on whatever was closest to him just to hear a yelp of total agony as it ripped away, a string of curses following as Shadow jumped up and raced to the door. He nearly slamming into the wall before he yanked the door open, sprinting out.

He crashed into a wall just as he left, turning as a shout followed him as Hartford and Wilt stared out at him. Then, Hartford dropped into a sprint, charging with a rage fueled intention of taking the fearful hedgehog down. With each step, his sleeve would jerk to the side and show the gorey scene of his arm, bite wound entirely covered with blood and unable to be recognised.

Shadow turned back forward just in time for someone to reach out to try to grab him, but he was too fast, slipping right away and out of their half hearted attempts at a snatch as he legs carriedn him further away. Where, he didn't know, but anywhere wherever Hartford and Wilt _weren't_ was ideal.

A few things were wrong with his plan.

Firstly, he was running top speed through a place he had yet to fully explore. He was bound to get lost, or found by the wrong people.

Secondly, he was just injected with an unknown substance, pumping it through his system faster was clearly a dumb move.

And lastly, there was blood on his mouth. It was disgusting, vile, and overall unsanitary. Also, a clear indicator that he just did something very wrong.

Shadow coughed and wiped his mouth clean, vision starting to fade. His limbs felt heavy, weighed down far too much and thoughts turning to sludge. But, he fought against it, whatever he had been injected with. Put him to sleep? They always used gas with him. Always.

Pain erupted through his knees but it took a second to register as to why. He had collapsed. Breathing was beginning to be such a chore, and he was… exhausted.

This was worse than the gas. He felt too tired. He knew-- when he was with Gerald and Maria, when she was crying… he didn't remember over what, but she was crying over something, and Gerald said that it was 'in a deep sleep now'. It had died.

A rat. Yes, a lab rat. She had befriended a lab rat long before he was released, and after that, it had died from old age.

"Put to sleep," he repeated, forcing his limbs to move forward. They didn't listen. "I…"

He heard footsteps and looked up, lifting his heavy head and coughing again. His eyes were blurry, maybe he was crying. He couldn't tell.

"Shadow?" The voice, he recognized it. Emily, Maria's nurse. Where exactly was he? He was lost. "What's happened to you-- why are you so bloody-- why are you crying?"

He felt cool hands against his burning face and sobbed quietly, slumping down until he was hardly upright anymore. "I'm dying." He spoke, voice distant. "I'm sorry for causing so much trouble."

Emily pet across the top of his head, the touch feeling numb to him. "No, no, I'll get Professor Gerald," she stood and Shadow blinked slowly, watching her frantically try the handle of a door he didn't know he was stopped next to. When it didn't open, she lifted her fists and banged against the metal, the loud clanking echoing the empty halls. "No meeting is too important."

His eyelids felt heavy.

Maybe he could rest a bit, hopefully his body will learn to fight this. He knew the thought was just flowery, though. He's been through too much the past day and a half, he still hadn't fully recovered from the experiment yesterday.

Hands wrapped around him and lifted, and Shadow opened his eyes, looking up at Emily as she held him in her arms. She didn't comment about how heavy he was.

The door opened to a rather pissed looking secretary, glaring daggers at the nurse before looking at Shadow and taking a step back.

"Oh, the experiment you were talking about is here." She spoke, turning to look through the room. The rest of the party, all eleven, turned towards the door in mixed levels of annoyance and concern.

Then, Emily shoved past her with a quiet and dismissive "excuse me" and mouthed for Gerald to come outside, so, the professor got up and excused himself, making his way across the room in no clear hurry and gently brushing past the secretary. The door remained open behind him, so he grabbed the handle and pulled it closed, much to the others growing confusion.

"Dr Roake, I really hope this is important, the people behind that door…" He trailed off, finally taking note of just how… odd Shadow was being. He disliked being held by anyone, even Maria, but now he was just deathly silent and had his head tucked against her neck.

Deathly.

"Shadow?" Gerald hurried to turn Shadow's head, glassy, half lidded eyes greeting him. "Shadow, Shadow no!"


	6. Update (Updated)

Hello! Speka here, time for an update.

 _I will be reworking Maria, meaning the ending of this story will change along with the entire story as a whole._

 _I will also move this to AO3, my primary account. I say this because this account is mostly dead, only here still for joke fics, drabbles, oneshots, and prompts. If you wish, when I change this fic I can keep a copy over here for those who don't want to convert over to ao3. I won't trouble myself with it unless people actually ask._

 _Now, take your time re-reading or saving this if you wish. Do not repost this, and do not repost this without my permission. This story will be deleted and remade when the first 5 chapters if the newest story are complete_.

Goodbye for now, I wish you all the best.

\-- Speka

* * *

 ** _Update on Update!_** ** _Maria has been relaunched and is now on its come back! i decided not to delete it, as plenty had this already bookmarked and would be confused or would forget to check it again, so i figured this would be more convienent._** ** _maria is still going up on AO3_**


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